Obi Helpers
Founder and CEO - Feb 2023 to Feb 2024
I raised pre-seed venture capital funding from Floodgate Ventures and joined their Reactor program. I brought on a Stanford-educated Gerontologist as an advisor to help fine-tune our service.
I handled everything marketing, matching, service design, all of our technical needs, etc. I recruited over two hundred housemate applicants, built industry relationships, and successfully placed housemates in multiple homes throughout the Austin Metro. Our company match success rate was 100% at the time we decided to close.
I raised pre-seed venture capital funding from Floodgate Ventures and joined their Reactor program. I brought on a Stanford-educated Gerontologist as an advisor to help fine-tune our service.
I handled everything from marketing, matching, service design, all of our technical needs, etc. I recruited over two hundred housemate applicants, built industry relationships, and successfully placed housemates in multiple homes throughout the Austin Metro. Our company match success rate was 100% at the time we decided to close.
Mock of Website for Introduction:
Mock of Website for Introduction:
Live with Companionship and In-Home Assistance
Live with Companionship and In-Home Assistance
Exchange your spare room for a trusted housemate who brings friendship, added safety, and a helping hand to your home.
Exchange your spare room for a trusted housemate who brings friendship, added safety, and a helping hand to your home.
We Match
We Match
A Host
A Host
Who provides housing in their spare bedroom.
Who provides housing in their spare bedroom.
With
A Vetted Helper
A Vetted Helper
Who lives with the Host and provides assistance and companionship.
Who lives with the Host and provides assistance and companionship.
To create daily social engagement, a safer living environment, and a mutually beneficial housing arrangement.
To create daily social engagement, a safer living environment, and a mutually beneficial housing arrangement.
How it works
How it works
The concept is simple. We help you to utilize a spare bedroom in your home to pay for in-home assistance and companionship. Instead of paying thousands of dollars out of pocket each month, we match you with a kind, dependable, and thoroughly vetted Housemate. They live in your spare room and in exchange for housing they provide three things:
Companionship: By residing with you and using shared living areas, your Housemate offers regular social engagement. They are available to accompany you in various activities such as having meals together, participating in game nights, going for walks, or any other mutual hobbies, ensuring enjoyable and consistent companionship.
Assistance: In addition to companionship, your Housemate provides 10 hours of practical help each week. This can include transportation, housekeeping, running errands, preparing meals, providing tech support, respite care, and other tasks to enhance your comfort at home.
Safety: Your trusted Housemate serves as a vigilant presence, which can greatly alleviate stress and enhance your sense of security, especially with their overnight presence. They can assist in various situations such as responding to falls, identifying health and scam risks, assisting in emergencies, and offering support when interacting with contractors or delivery people.
Two-Week Trial Period: Before making a long-term commitment, you have the opportunity to experience this unique arrangement with a Housemate for a two-week trial period. This allows you to assess compatibility and witness the positive impact on your daily life without a long-term commitment.
Embrace a fulfilling home life by welcoming a Housemate who integrates seamlessly into your daily routine. With over 230 Housemate applicants ready to be matched, we are poised to help you find the perfect companion. Contact us now to begin.
The concept is simple. We help you to utilize a spare bedroom in your home to pay for in-home assistance and companionship. Instead of paying thousands of dollars out of pocket each month, we match you with a kind, dependable, and thoroughly vetted Housemate. They live in your spare room and in exchange for housing they provide three things:
Companionship: By residing with you and using shared living areas, your Housemate offers regular social engagement. They are available to accompany you in various activities such as having meals together, participating in game nights, going for walks, or any other mutual hobbies, ensuring enjoyable and consistent companionship.
Assistance: In addition to companionship, your Housemate provides 10 hours of practical help each week. This can include transportation, housekeeping, running errands, preparing meals, providing tech support, respite care, and other tasks to enhance your comfort at home.
Safety: Your trusted Housemate serves as a vigilant presence, which can greatly alleviate stress and enhance your sense of security, especially with their overnight presence. They can assist in various situations such as responding to falls, identifying health and scam risks, assisting in emergencies, and offering support when interacting with contractors or delivery people.
Two-Week Trial Period: Before making a long-term commitment, you have the opportunity to experience this unique arrangement with a Housemate for a two-week trial period. This allows you to assess compatibility and witness the positive impact on your daily life without a long-term commitment.
Embrace a fulfilling home life by welcoming a Housemate who integrates seamlessly into your daily routine. With over 230 Housemate applicants ready to be matched, we are poised to help you find the perfect companion. Contact us now to begin.
End of Website Copy
End of Website Copy
Journey and Achievements
Journey and Achievements
Investors and Advisors:
To start this journey I raised a pre-seed venture capital round from Floodgate Ventures and joined their Reactor Program. This incubator program puts aspiring founders together for a summer to work simultaneously on various projects while they receive mentorship from successful founders. Obi Helpers stemmed from my time in this program.
To understand the exigence of this exchange it's important to note that, 79% of seniors have one or more spare bedrooms in their homes, and over half have two or more. It's also important to note there is an epidemic of social isolation among seniors in the US that is taking years off the lives of many seniors.
I designed this service based on months of research into the senior care space, a space that I was very interested in working in as a result of personal experience. I brought on a medical advisor to fine-tune the concept and ensure we weren't putting the seniors or housemates at risk. My advisor was Dr. Miguel Galindo, a Stanford Medical School-educated Gerontologist.
I was successfully able to place many housemates with seniors in the Austin area. Multiple housemates that I placed are watching over the aging parents of adult children who are now less burdened and able to travel and live more freely. Another subset is providing companionship and assistance to seniors who live alone. Finally, one housemate is providing continuity to a young girl whose parents are in and out of the hospital due to the father's unsteady health.
While that impact was great, after analyzing the quantity and intensity of the interest that my service had gotten I decided to shut it down. The perceived risk of opening one's home to a stranger was too large for our service to see widespread adoption across the US, so I closed the program.
Investors and Advisors:
To start this journey I raised a pre-seed venture capital round from Floodgate Ventures and joined their Reactor Program. This incubator program puts aspiring founders together for a summer to work simultaneously on various projects while they receive mentorship from successful founders. Obi Helpers stemmed from my time in this program.
To understand the exigence of this exchange it's important to note that, 79% of seniors have one or more spare bedrooms in their homes, and over half have two or more. It's also important to note there is an epidemic of social isolation among seniors in the US that is taking years off the lives of many seniors.
I designed this service based on months of research into the senior care space, a space that I was very interested in working in as a result of personal experience. I brought on a medical advisor to fine-tune the concept and ensure we weren't putting the seniors or housemates at risk. My advisor was Dr. Miguel Galindo, a Stanford Medical School-educated Gerontologist.
I was successfully able to place many housemates with seniors in the Austin area. Multiple housemates that I placed are watching over the aging parents of adult children who are now less burdened and able to travel and live more freely. Another subset is providing companionship and assistance to seniors who live alone. Finally, one housemate is providing continuity to a young girl whose parents are in and out of the hospital due to the father's unsteady health.
While that impact was great, after analyzing the quantity and intensity of the interest that my service had gotten I decided to shut it down. The perceived risk of opening one's home to a stranger was too large for our service to see widespread adoption across the US, so I closed the program.
My Exit Letter
My Exit Letter
A detailed explanation of my analysis of the success of the business and my decision to close the service.
A detailed explanation of my analysis of the success of the business and my decision to close the service.